There are a couple of choice words in this section, so skip it if you're easily offended by that type of thing.

She squealed in surprise when he picked her up and proceeded to walk toward the couch. He laughed at her reaction and settled her in his lap before wrapping the throw from the back of the couch around the two of them. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, remembering how critically important that this type of contact was to both of them.

This was their recharge mechanism. Even though they hadn't been dating very long, each drew their strength and comfort from the other. Sam was just as tactile, if not more so, than she was. She thought about when they'd first started dating, and how he'd held in his anguish about his father's betrayal.

She knocked on the door and rang the bell several times, but he never even acknowledged that she was there and she knew for a fact that he was home. Knowing where he kept the spare key, she brought it out from its hiding place and used it to let herself in.

Looking around the living room, she was shocked to see all of the papers and manuals strewn about the room. Normally, Sam would only allow his briefcase to explode in his office, not out in the main room. She kept calling for him and was finally rewarded with a small childlike reply.

"I-I'm up here."

He sounded so sad and lost. She quickly went upstairs to see what was going on and got the shock of her life when she pushed open the bedroom door.

The room was quickly darkening in the fading light. "Sam?", she called quietly. She couldn't see him anywhere in the room and had no idea where else to look for him. Suddenly, she heard an anguished whisper from the other side of the bed.

"I'm over here."

She rounded the bed and suddenly stopped in her tracks, unable to move or speak from the sight in front of her.

Sam sat on the floor in front of her, curled up in a ball. His suit was rumpled to the point that it looked like he'd borrowed it from Josh. He'd opened the first 2 buttons on his shirt and loosened his tie to the point where the knot was quarter way down his chest. She could see that he held a well-loved stuffed animal tightly to him. He looked like a small boy; lost, scared, alone.

She took a step closer and knelt down next to him. Gingerly, she touched the hair near his ear as she spoke to him very softly, "Sam, honey, what's wrong?" He raised his head to look at her and the sight shocked her.

His face was wet with tears with fresh ones still rolling down his cheeks. He wore a defeated expression on his face as he tried to compose himself to no avail. But those things weren't what surprised her. The look in his eyes was what made her fight her own reaction.

The only thing she could see was endless sadness. They were the color of the Atlantic in winter and just as unsettled. He blinked slowly as he looked at her. Trying to smile, he said, "I'll be fine. Just a very bad day, Katie. A very, very bad day."

"You know I don't buy that, right?"

"Really Katie, don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

She cupped his cheek in her hand. "Please, Sam, tell me what's wrong. Don't hold this in anymore. It's obvious that it's ripping you apart inside."

He got up from the floor and, throwing the animal on the bed, left the room. She heard him start down the stairs and got up to follow him. He'd gone into the kitchen and she was right behind him. He spun around as soon as he heard her.

"I told you that I'm fine."

Her voice had an edge to it. "Yeah. And I still don't believe you, Sam."

"I don't want to talk about it," his voice was quiet.

She didn't want to, but knew that she had to get pushy with him.

"Tell me, Sam. I know you don't want to talk about it, but you need to get it out."

She could tell he was pissed. "Katie, I told you that I DON'T want to TALK ABOUT IT!!"

She settled herself slightly before responding. "I could give a damn whether you want to or not. You're going to tell me what's bothering you. The longer it takes you to tell me, the longer I'll bug you for it, and you know I won't stop."

He laughed bitterly. Slamming down the can he'd gotten from the cabinet, he turned on her and just let loose.

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!! What part of that phrase are you having a problem with? Don't pester me about this like the child you are!! Just GO HOME, little girl. I'm NOT talking about this and don't even THINK YOU can make me!"

He knew what he'd said had hurt her, but in that moment, he could care less. Why couldn't she see that he just wanted to be left alone?

Suddenly, he noticed that her face had changed, and it didn't look like it was a good thing.

"Little girl? LITTLE GIRL?!? I don't give a FUCK what you say about me, Seaborn and you know it. I'm a HELL of a lot stronger than you think and I'm NOT GOING ANYWHERE!! You're stuck with me, and if you don't like it, too fucking bad 'cause I'm STAYING!"

They stared each other down in the tense, crackling silence that followed. After about 10 minutes, Kate threw up her hands.

"Fine. You want to be a bastard about this, Sam, go right ahead. It's so obvious that you're about ready to snap from all of the tension you're under. I can see right through you, and there are times that I can sense whatever you're feeling. Why do you think I came here tonight? You think you can handle this on your own, fine. I won't stop you. But we both know that if I'd tried any of this when we first met, you would've pushed me just as hard. So go ahead and handle this on your own, Sam, but don't track me down if you can't." She turned on her heel and started to walk out.

Stunned, he could only stand and watch as she began to walk out of the kitchen. He had no idea that she could be that stubborn, or that she could get so loud. Her shouting had startled him. He was so used to her usual quiet tones that he had no idea she could be that loud.

He hadn't known that she cared about him that much and it was both scary and thrilling at the same time. No one had ever pushed him like that in any of his other relationships, not this soon. His head was spinning from everything running through it, and he could only think of one thing to do.

"K-Katie? Don't go. Please?" It came out quiet and scared. She hadn't turned, so he assumed that she just hadn't heard him. He tried again.

"Katie, please don't leave. I-I need you. I'm so sorry for what I said. Just please, don't leave." A little louder this time. He could only hope that she'd heard.

She stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. She stayed where she was and looked him over with an unreadable expression on her face. Once she was standing in front of him, she brought her hand up to touch his face and he covered it with his own as he leaned into her touch. She knew the tears were right there; she could see them. In a gentle, loving voice, she asked, "Sam, what happened?"

"I-I…" He looked confused, disoriented.

"Shhh. Let's do this. Go on upstairs and maybe change into some jeans or something so you're more comfortable. I'll bring up some water; I've got a feeling we're going to need it later. I'll be up in about 10 minutes and we can talk as much as you need to, OK?"

He nodded mutely and the look in his eyes hadn't changed. He tried to smile at her but couldn't.

"Go on, sweetie. I'll be up soon."

She tapped on his door after she'd made sure everything was locked up. Pushing the door open slowly, she could see him sitting dejectedly on the bed. After putting everything down, she went to him and got them both settled on the bed.

"Would you like your animal, too, Sam?"

"Please. Um, Katie, would you mind…" Barely audible, but she knew what he wanted. After giving him the stuffed animal, she held her arms out to him and he wearily crawled into her embrace.

"You're safe now," she said as his head came to rest on her shoulder, "I'm right here, Sam, I'm right here."

She felt him touch her face. "Beth? Sweetie, are you all right?"

Smiling softly, "Yeah. Just remembering the time you told me about your dad."

"Oh."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you about it."

"Thank you. Now," he said as he shifted to be able to see her face better, "you were going to tell me what happened when you were 13?" His tone was calm, reassuring. He was trying to make it very clear that he didn't blame her for any of what had happened then. Seeing the hesitant look on her face, he kissed her on the forehead and stroked her face with the back of his fingers.

"I won't leave, little one. Not unless you ask me to."

She gave a small smile and snuggled in closer. She couldn't avoid this any longer, so she just took a deep breath and started.

"I was coming home late from school one day. I'd had field hockey practice and then chapel. Afterwards my friends and I walked to each person's house so everyone would get home. I was the last one & lived the farthest away, so I walked home by myself….."

The sun was starting to come up outside when she'd finally finished her story. They slowly began to disentangle themselves so they'd be able to stretch. Both of them were stiff from being curled up on the couch for so long. She tried to stand up but stumbled almost immediately and Sam was right there to catch her.

"Hey, you OK?"

"I-I think so. I feel so sleepy right now. I don't even know if I'll make it upstairs."

He laughed softly. She really didn't know what to expect with him, did she? He stood up and stretched, then bent over and swept her up in his arms again.

"Sam! What're you…"

"You can barely stand up, sweetie. Let's get you upstairs and into bed."

He laid her on the bed and pulled the covers over her. Her eyes were barely open and he knew that she'd fall asleep almost immediately. He brushed back her hair and saw her smile softly. Bending over, he kissed her on the cheek and said, "Go to sleep. It's OK now. Angel mine, I love you."

She mumbled sleepily, "I love you, too."

He turned out the lights and came back upstairs. From the doorway, he could see that she'd already shifted to her side and was curled up in a ball. He smiled as he walked past her around to the other side of the bed. He loved watching her sleep; her face was always so peaceful and clear, allowing him to have his own dreams of her.

He could pretend that nothing and no one had ever hurt her. She wasn't scared to ask him for anything. Her pale, soft skin had never been marred by cuts or bruises inflicted by her family in an effort to 'discipline' her. He let his fingertips drift lightly across her upper back, remembering with pain in his heart the small scars there covered by her shirt and the long bruises that once accompanied them. The only timidity behind her touch would be from regular nervousness, not from the fear that her hand would be swatted away because her touch was unwanted. She wouldn't flinch or cower if someone raised their hand for fear of being hit. Most of all, her perfect, fragile heart would still be whole. There would be missing pieces and chips here and there, of course. He couldn't expect her to go through her life up to now without being hurt once or twice, but at least her heart wouldn't be entirely shattered the way he knew it was.

Becoming sleepier himself, he snuggled up behind her. It was going to take a long time for her to heal from all of the damage that had been done, and he could only hope that he was helping. Kissing the back of her neck, he whispered, "I never thought that you were damaged goods, sweet Katie. You've always been perfect to me."

Kate shifted as they slept. Her arm came out from underneath the covers and came to rest on top of Sam's, her hand taking hold of his as her heart and spirit healed just that much more because of him.